2018 U.S. Championship

Awonder is one of the most impressive chess prodigies in recent history.  The youngest GM in this year’s field, he tied for first at the 2011 U8 World Youth Chess Championship and went on to become the youngest American to ever earn the Master and IM titles.  He enters this tournament after a year of  important successes, earning his final GM Norm in May 2017 and winning the 2017 U.S Junior Closed Championship.  The Chess world can count on seeing an impressive performance from the young American GM in this year’s U.S. Championship.

Born in Leningrad, Russia, at age four  Aleksandr arrived in Brooklyn with his family and quickly began to cultivate his love of the royal game.  Lenderman was part of the ‘dream team’ at his high school, winning four straight national titles.  During the 2008 USCF Grand Prix, Alex scored higher than all of the competing GM’s by playing and championing smaller events, including WCL tournaments.  After placing first in the 2009 Atlantic Open he went on to win the 2009 Grand Prix, and co-champion the 2009 U.S. Open.  GM Lenderman earned his three Grandmaster norms in quick succession in the summer of 2009 and formally obtained the GM title in 2010.  In 2015, the young American Grandmaster helped the U.S. team bring home the gold medal at the World Chess Championship and then went on to win the 2015 World Open.   Last year he produced impressive performances at the Chess World Cup and the Chess.com Isle of Man Open in September.  This experienced GM  is a strong and exciting addition to this year’s already very strong field.

Wesley learned chess from his father at the age of six, and was competing in junior tournaments by the age of nine.  When he earned his Grandmaster title at the age of fourteen years, one month, and twenty-eight days, So completed the ‘trifecta’ of being the youngest-ever Filipino National Champion, IM, and GM.

Wesley came to the U.S. in August of 2012, enrolled at Webster University and quickly leapt from being a top 100 player to one of the top ten worldwide, leading his school to back-to-back national titles along the way.

In October 2014, GM So took first place at the inaugural Millionaire Open then returned to Saint Louis to lead the Arch-Bishops to their first ever Pro Chess League Championship.  Wesley then participated in his first elite tournament, securing the fourth place prize at the 77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Holland.  The following year he returned and tied for second place, just a half-point behind Magnus.

2016 saw the American GM earn first place in the Grand Chess Tour by winning the Sinquefield Cup and the London Chess Classic. In 2017 Wesley won the Tata Steel Masters tournament and became the eleventh player in history to surpass 2800 FIDE.